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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2022; 15(04): 490-514
DOI: 10.5935/1984-0063.20220082
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Associations of sleep and emotion regulation processes in childhood and adolescence - a systematic review, report of methodological challenges and future directions

Friederike Lollies
1   Bielefeld University, Faculty for Psychology and Sports - Bielefeld - North Rhine Westphalia - Germany
,
Marisa Schnatschmidt
1   Bielefeld University, Faculty for Psychology and Sports - Bielefeld - North Rhine Westphalia - Germany
,
Isabell Bihlmeier
2   University of Tuebingen, Faculty of Science, Clinical Psychology - Tuebingen - Baden -Wuerttemberg - Germany
,
Jon Genuneit
3   Leipzig University, Pediatric Epidemiology, Department of Pediatrics, Medical Faculty - Leipzig - Saxony - Germany
,
Tina In-Albnon
4   University of Koblenz-Landau, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and Psychotherapy - Koblenz-Landau - Rhineland Palatinate - Germany
,
Martin Holtmann
5   Ruhr University Bochum, LWL - University Hospital Hamm for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Hamm - North Rhine Westphalia - Germany
,
Tanja Legenbauer
5   Ruhr University Bochum, LWL - University Hospital Hamm for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Hamm - North Rhine Westphalia - Germany
,
Angelika Anita Schlarb
1   Bielefeld University, Faculty for Psychology and Sports - Bielefeld - North Rhine Westphalia - Germany
2   University of Tuebingen, Faculty of Science, Clinical Psychology - Tuebingen - Baden -Wuerttemberg - Germany
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Sleep and emotions are closely associated; however, the methodological challenges in the examination of sleep and the processes of emotion regulation in children and adolescents have not been investigated so far. Additionally, there is the demand to identify the levels of emotion regulating processes in which problematic or restricted sleep causes effect. Experimental sleep deprivation as well as prevalent sleep problems have been found to have negative influence on mental health and regulating functions. This review focuses first on the methodological protocols of the included studies. Subsequently, the results are summarized in the context of a multilevel model of emotion regulation. Thereafter, suggestions for future directions are given. Sleep problems and sleep deprivation are associated with a decrease of functional emotion regulating behavior and impaired emotion generation, and prolonged sleep enhances better mood and affect states, positive emotion expression, and faster sensory processing in response to emotional stimuli. This literature review highlights the limitations in current research, focusing on types of measurements, task characteristics, and data analysis. At the conclusion, suggestions are given for the future research direction in the field of sleep and emotion regulation in children and adolescents.

Sleep - Sleep Deprivation - Emotions - Child - Emotional Regulation

APPENDIX



Publication History

Received: 28 May 2021

Accepted: 03 November 2021

Article published online:
01 December 2023

© 2023. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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